Giants get split with Cubs

CHICAGO -- His jersey soaked with sweat and his arms covered in rosin, Madison Bumgarner bent down and pumped both fists after getting one of the biggest outs of a long, emotional series at Wrigley Field. He screamed as he headed back to the dugout.

"It's definitely not the time of year to hold back," he said later.

The Giants never did in their many hours in the historic park, throwing everything they had at the Cubs on the field and off. They came away with two wins in the series, including one in a unique doubleheader Thursday. The Giants lost 2-1 in a game that was suspended Tuesday but came back for a 5-3 win in the nightcap.

San Francisco Giants' Adam Duvall, left, hits a double against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning of the continuation of a baseball game that began Tuesday, on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014, in Chicago. Tuesday's game was suspended in the fifth inning due to rain. (AP Photo/Andrew A. Nelles)
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Andrew Nelles
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After winning a protest that allowed them to continue the first game of the series, the Giants had hoped for a sweep. They were fine with a series victory, though, especially because they dodged another pair of storms that could have further muddied their schedule.

"You'll take it," manager Bruce Bochy said. "It would have been nice to come back (in the first game), but we tried and came up short. It was a tough series, really, with all the delays. These guys fought."

Thursday's action was supposed to start at 4:05 p.m. (CDT) with the teams picking up where they left off Tuesday night. But another round of showers brought the controversial blue tarp back out. This time, everything went smoothly. After waiting two more hours, the Giants and Cubs took the field to continue playing a game they had started two days earlier and continued only because the Giants became the first team in 28 years to win a protest.

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The two weather delays officially lasted six hours, 31 minutes, and the Giants wasted little time cutting into the deficit. Adam Duvall doubled with two outs in the sixth and scored on a single by pinch-hitter Joe Panik.

In the meantime, the bullpen was cruising. Yusmeiro Petit replaced Ryan Vogelsong and struck out the side in the long-awaited bottom of the fifth. He struck out two more in a perfect sixth.

San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Yusmeiro Petit delivers against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning of the continuation of a baseball game that began Tuesday, on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014, in Chicago. Tuesday's game was suspended in the fifth inning due to rain. (AP Photo/Andrew A. Nelles)
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Andrew Nelles
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"Geez, it's hard to throw the ball better than he did," Bochy said. "He was really locked in and hitting his spots. You would like to think that would get us going."

It did, but the Giants couldn't get home. Travis Ishikawa had a leadoff single in the seventh that didn't lead to any damage. Panik and Brandon Crawford singled with one out in the ninth, but after Gregor Blanco struck out looking, Angel Pagan lined a shot right at closer Hector Rondon. He knocked it down and threw to first to end a game that went in the books as two hours, 50 minutes, but took 48 hours to complete.

"He hit it well," Bochy said. "Shoot, that's all you can do. It's a hard-hit ball, and the pitcher did a great job of stopping it."

The teams returned to the field 46 minutes later, and Pagan kicked things off by getting the exact result he had just missed at the end of the first game: A lined single up the middle. He scored three batters later on one of Pablo Sandoval's three hits.

The Giants fell behind 3-1 on two Cubs homers in the first, but Buster Posey took over from there, reaching base five times and hitting a go-ahead homer and two doubles. Posey got Wednesday off to receive treatment for hip tightness that he said has bothered him off and on for years.

"I get (trainer Dave Groeschner) working on me for a solid 24 hours and get some medication, and it usually responds pretty well," he said.

It sure did Thursday. Given a two-run cushion, Bumgarner cruised into the seventh, when he put two runners in scoring position ahead of hard-swinging rookie Javier Baez. Bochy started to come out to talk to Bumgarner, but the left-hander waved his manager off.

"He said, 'No, I'm good,' " Bochy said. "He's as mentally tough as you get. He didn't want to come out of the game with the game on the line."

Baez has drawn comparisons to former All-Star Gary Sheffield, but in the game's biggest moment, Bumgarner struck him out for a fourth time.

"I knew he was probably my last hitter, so I was giving him everything I had to get him out," Bumgarner said. "We've got to win all the games we can win right now."

Bochy said he expects Brandon Belt (concussion) to play in late September. During an appearance on 95.7 The Game, the first baseman said the same.

"I'm definitely planning on playing this season," Belt said while on "The Wheelhouse." I'm definitely planning on being there when we go to the playoffs."

Belt is still dealing with vision and focus issues stemming from a concussion he suffered last month. Doctors have advised him to take three weeks to rest, at which time he will be re-evaluated. The Giants already are thinking about ways that they can get Belt some live action at their facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, assuming he is cleared to resume baseball work sometime next month. Belt said he was told he would make a full recovery.

"We're just not exactly sure when that's going to be, because these things are unpredictable," he said.